Water-level indicator



Sept. 4, 1928.

D. S. JACOBUS'.

WATER LEVEL INDICATOR Filed June 17, 1924 INVENTOR y 20 vention as itwould be appliedto a high presure, a pair of bevel gears 22, one ofwhich is Patented Sept. 4, 1928. t

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE..."

DAVID s. JAGOBUS, or JERSEY CITY, new JERSEY, nssioiton are THE BABCOCK& WIL- eox COMPANY, OF BAYONNE, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION or JERSEY.

WATER-LEVEL INDICATOR.

Application filed June 17, 1924. Serial No. 720,503.

My present invention relates to water level be hereinafter described,and to afford easy indicators particularly those adapted for use accessto it without permitting leakage 01' in connection with high pressuresteam bollsteam. i 55 erg A support 1 1 within the drum 12 carries a Asis well known, great difiiculty has herebalance lever 15, supported onknife edges 16. totore been experienced with the ordinary One end of thelever 15 extends over the gauge glass to indicate water levels when highnipple 13 and from this end, also preferably boiler pressuresareinvolved. on the other supported on knife edges, is a support rod 17 60hand, any float-operated indicator 1n which extending down through thenipple 13 and the float is oi the usual hollow ball type, 1s connectedto a solid metallic float 18 posiliable to become inoperative because ofthe tioned at ornear the normal water level in the liability of thefloat leaking and thus destroydrum 10. At the other end of the lever isingits functioning. y a balance weight 19. y By my presentl11V8IllJ101'1,IPTOVlClG awater ,onnecl'ed to the lever 15 by theforked. level indicator which is free from the usual construction 26shown inFig. 3, i a Sh ft 20 objections and which can be safelyused'with h avimg its axis in the axis of the fulcrum of high pressuresteam boilers. the lever 15, the shaft 20 extending from a Referring tothe drawings in which I have gland 21, as shown in Fig. 2, and having atit 70 shown an illustrative:embodiment of my 111- outer end, in the formillustrated in that fig Sum Steam boil r having steam and waterconnected to avertical shaft 23 having a drums, Fig. 1 is a view of suchillustrative empointer 24: swinging over an index plate 25.

bodiment with some of the parts broken away lV1th the arrangement justdescribed, it and removed to better illustrate theconstrucwlll beobvious that as the water "level in the 25 tion; Fig. 2 is a section onthe line 2-2 of drum 10 rises and falls, the float 18 will sinn- Fig, 1;Fig. 1.3 is a plan view of the balance larly be raised and lowered, thebalance l f Fig. 1; Fig. 41 is a plan view of a part We1gl1t 19 beingdesigned so that the buoy of Fi 2, an chl ig. 5 is a side new of amodilianey ot-the water around float 18 is necessary so Cation i a 1norder to overcome the difference in weight Like reference charactersindicate like between i the floats 18 and the balance parts in theseveral views. a weight 19.

In high pressure steam bo lers, 1t is usual, By having a solid metallicheat 18, it is it a steam and water drum is used,to make obviousthatthere will be no joints or theiike such drum of relatively smalldiameter so as to open up and permit the float toliil with to give itthe required strength Without unwater andthus destroy theoperativenessoi? due thieknessot metal, and a part of such a the indicatoiu On theother hand, by havingdrum is illustrated at, 10, the drum here thisrelativelyheavy mass for the float, it shown having supported thereon bymeans 01 necessary to provide an almost equally heavv no the supports11, an auxiliary drum 12 with a mass 19 so that the total weight on thetulnipple 13 expanded into the top of the drum eruin oi the lever 15 isrelatively great. Such 1.0 and hebo om 0f h m 12 f m g a an arrangement,if provided with the ordicommunication between the steam space of naryhearings, might be so sluggish as not'to the drum 10 and the auxiliarydrum 12. respond quickly to changes in the water level, 95 The auxiliarydrum 12 may be mad o and to overcome this, 1 have provided" the anydesired shape, but preferably, in the form knife bearing 16 so th t th 1,1 may be of Fig. 1, with its ends drawn down and turned without eiiort,thus permitting; slie ht it l sed, with their int n y Seated Closureschanges in the water level to move the relallehl y external Y 111 the Stively heavy massesof the Heat 18 and thebal- 1m) 12 is shown at theright-hand end of he mice weight 19. The motion of the lever 15 on drum12 and removed at the lett-hand end. its fulcrum will rotate the shaftQOand thus These closures are made large enough to perturn the pointer 2lto the appropriate point mit the insertion of the float mechanismto forthe water level existing at that time in the drum 10. By providing theforked arrangement 26, by which the shaft 20 is attached to the lever15, I provide an arrangement by which the knife edge fulcrum can beprovided between. the support 14 and the lever 15 with outlilltGlfQIQllCQ between the knife edge and the connections to theindicating shaft 20.

Instead of. the index device of Figs. 2 and 4:, I may use the deviceshown in Fig. 5, in which a whcel27 is attached to the end. of the shaft20, the wheel 27 having attached to it and passing over a portion of theperiphery thereof, a wire 28 extending down through a metal tube 29, aglass tube 30 and a metal tube 31 and having a weight 32 attached to thelower end thereof An indicating device 33 is attachedto the wire 28 soas to be posi tioncd approximately at the center of the glass 30 whenthe water level is normal. Obviously, as the shaft 20 is turned, thewheel 27. is turnedwit-h it, which causes the wire 28 to rise or fallandto carrythe indicator 33 up and down inside of the glass 30 toindicate the water level.

Ifdesired, a pair of members 34. 35 may be attached to the wire 28 so asto contact with a valve arm 36 of a valve 37, in a steam pipe 38, toadmit steam to the whistle 39 to warn the operator when the water levelis below or above predetermined levels, the contact of either of, themembers 34, 35 with the arm 36 opening the valve 37 to admit steam tothe whistle 39. I

\Vhile many features of my invention might be applied directly to awater level indicator, the operating parts of which would be entirelywithin the drum 10, I prefer to use the arrangement shown in Fig. 1, inorder that the parts may be in a separate drum so operating as to makeaccess thereto possible without emptying the drum 10, and also so thatthe float '18 may be placed in any desired position lengthwise of thedrum 10 and still be accessible, and also so that the shaft 20 may passthrough the walls of the drum containing the lever 15 normal to thesurface of such walls. It will be obvious that if the lever 15 were inthe upper part of the drum 10, for instance, the shaft 20 would not benormal to the surface of the walls of the drum 10 and. this wouldrequire a fitting difficult to make and attach.

It will be understood that the embodiment of my invention may be widelyvaried and that some of the features thereof may beused independently ofother features.

I claim:

1. A water level indicator for a steam boiler having a, steam and waterdrum, said indicater comprising a chamber, a steam connection betweensaid drum and chamber, a balance lever in said chamber, a float in saiddrum and positioned in the water therein, and a suspension memberconnecting said lever andsaid float andextending freely through thesteam connection between the drum and said chamber.

2. A water level indicator for a steam boiler having a steam and. waterdrum, said indicator comprising a chamber, a steam connection betweensaid drum and chamber, a balance lever in said chamber, a solid metallicfloat in said drum and positioned in thejwater' therein, asuspensionmemberconnectingsaid lever and said float and extending freelythrough the steam connection between the drum andsaid chamber, and abalance weight on said lever.

3. A water level indicator for a steam boiler having a steam and waterdrum, said, indicator comprising a chamber, a steam connection betweensaid drum balance lever pivoted in said chamber, a solid metallic floatin said drum and positioned in the water therein, a suspension memberconnecting one end of said lever and said float and extending throughthe steam connection between the drum and said chamber, a balance weighton the other end of said lever, and a level gauge exterior to saidchamber and means for connecting said gauge and said.

lever including a shaft connected to the lever and extending through thewall of said chamber.

4. A water level indicator for a steam boiler having a steam and waterdrum, said indicator comprising an auxiliary drum of relatively smalldiameter, a lever pivoted in said auxiliary drum and having the axis ofits fulcrum at right-angles to the axis of said drum with sai daxes insubstantially the same plane, a float in the steam and water drum and inthe water therein, a between said drums, a suspensinon member extendingthrough said steam connection and connecting said float with oneyend ofsaid.

lever, a level gauge exterior of said drums and a shaft extendingthrough the wall of said auxiliary drum and connecting said gauge andsaid lever.

5. A water level indicator for a steam boiler having a steam and waterdrum, said indicator comprising an auxiliary drum of relatively smalldiameter, a lever pivoted in said auxiliary drum and having the axis ofits fulcrum at right-angles to the axis of said drum with said axes insubstantially the same plane, a solid metallic float in the steam andwater drum and in the water therein, a steam connection betweensaiddrums, a suspension member extending through said steam connection andconnecting said float with one end of said lever, a level gauge exteriorof said drums and a shaft extending through the wall of said auxiliarydrum and connecting said gauge and said lever,and a balance weightattached to the other end of said lever.'

6. A water level indicator for a steam boiler having a steam and waterdrum, said indicator comprising an auxiliary drum of.

and chamber, a

steam connection relatively small diameter, a lever pivotally mountedintermediate its ends in said auxiliary drum and having the axis of itsfulcrum at right-angles to the axis of said aux iliary drum with saidaxes in substantially the same plane, a support for said lever in saidauxiliary drum, said lever being supported on said support on a knifeedge hearing, a solid metallic float in the steam and water drum and inthe Water therein, a steam connection between said drums, a suspensionmember extending through said steam connection and connecting said floatto one end of said lever, a level gauge exterior of said drums and ashaft extending through the wall of said auxiliary drum and connectingsaid gauge and said lever, and abalance weight on the other end of saidlever.

7. In a water level indicator for steam boilers, a steam and water drum,an auxiliary drum mounted on top thereof, means con necting saidauxiliary drum to the steam space of the steam and water drum, a leverin the auxiliary drum having a counterweight, and a vertical. connectingmember on said lever and extending through said connection to a float insaid steam and water drum.

8. In a water level indicator for steam boilers, a steam and Water drum,an auxiliary drum mounted on top thereof, means connecting saidauxiliary drum to the steam space of the steam and waterdrum, a lever inthe axiliary drum having a counterweight, a vertical connecting memberon said lever and extending through said connection to a float in saidsteam and water drum, a cont-inuous indicator, and connections wherebysaid indicator is operated by movement of said lever.

DAVID s. JAcoBUs.

